House Commerce Committee Chairman Thomas Bliley (R-VA) andEnergy and Power Subcommittee Chairman Dan Schaefer (F-CO) tried tojump-start interest in electricity restructuring on Capitol Hillearlier this week by issuing draft legislation that would mandatecustomer choice at the state level by Jan 1, 2001, and wouldgrandfather state retail-access programs that are in effect bythen.

“This is just a discussion draft. It’s still a work inprogress,” a Capitol Hill press aide told NGI. Bliley has askedcommittee members to take copies of the draft home during the July4th recess and review them carefully, she said. No date has beenset for when markup will occur in subcommittee, but it could takeplace before lawmakers leave for August recess.

The draft legislation is an “effort to rekindle discussion” onelectricity restructuring and achieve markup when Congress returnsfrom its July 4th recess, said Martin Edwards of the InterstateNatural Gas Association of America (INGAA). It “sounds consistentwith a lot of the principles we’ve heard in the past.”

Two months ago, Bliley and Schaefer met with the committeemembers seeking legislative feedback on electricity restructuring,the Hill aide noted. The end product was the draft measure. Itincorporates some provisions from Schaefer’s comprehensive bill, aswell as parts of the draft legislation proposed by subcommitteemembers Sens. Bill Paxton (R-NY) and Steve Largent (R-OK). It alsoincludes provisions that are similar to the Clintonadministration’s restructuring guidelines, the aide said.

“Some of the tweaks and changes” in the bill include the following:

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